'Pawcasso' art is a draw

Dogs walk in paint to help Springs museum

June 8, 2008|By Lisa Bolivar Special Correspondent

About $1,000 was raised for the Coral Springs Museum of Art - at $10 per dog - during the Coral Springs Festival of the Arts as canines lined up to walk through gobs of paint and then across paper to create "Pawcasso" paintings fit for any living room wall.

The idea of dog painting for the museum came from Friends of the Museum member Michelle Pomerantz, 48, of Coral Springs, who has some doggie art by her toy poodle, Diva, in her home that guests frequently comment on.

"The way it happened initially was, when Diva was a little puppy, I wanted her to paint a picture because I'd seen elephants painting with trunks and such," Pomerantz said. "So I opened a garbage bag, put paint around and she ran around and onto the paper and it came out really cute."

Pomerantz, who volunteers at the museum with her husband, Hap, saw an opportunity to introduce dog painting when she began looking for fundraising ideas to promote a museum exhibit titled "Blue Dog," she said.

Karen Weinman, director of development at the museum, said Pomerantz's idea was a hit. "I think it was a big success; everybody just loved it," she said. "It was a lot of fun, but it was hard work."

Part of that hard work was cleaning the pooches' paws after they walked through yellow, blue and red colors.

Pamy Leto, owner of the Grooming Gallery, a dog grooming facility in Coral Springs, sat at the corner of a tarp covered in paint and washed the dog's paws, as well as toes and bodies when little children decided to participate as well.

"I thought it was nice and well organized. I got a workout," Leto said.

Marcia Schultz, of Coral Springs, brought her golden retriever to paint. She stood laughing as the dog repeatedly walked through the colors and then sat on the paper instead of walking across it. "I wanted to see if he had an artist in him, but look, he doesn't. He is more of a mother's boy."